As a group, they spend nearly 10 times as much time online as the average internet user – 25 hours a week compared to 11 hours a month. They are among the most technologically savvy of all consumers, and are far more likely to buy new electronics when they come out than most other consumer groups. For both men and women, they have higher incomes and are better educated than any other consumer group online. And they show strong company and brand loyalty to organisations that target them – whether or not services are specialised to niche tastes.

The group? Gays and lesbians. If you’re talking about the colour of money, a series of recent studies and research reports show that the pink euro, pound and dollar is the currency of choice online.

“Gay men and women have the technology attitudes and demographics that marketers dream about. Gays are among the first to adopt new devices and online tools, making them prime targets for digital marketing as well as emerging technologies,” states a July Forrester Research study.

Though the numbers may seem small, with only 5 per cent of men and two per cent of women stating they preferred same-sex partners in a recent survey of US households by Forrester Research (though another 20 per cent declined to answer the question), an estimated 17 million Americans are homosexual and their collective buying power is tallied at $464 billion – outstripping US Asians or Hispanics and, in per capita terms, well ahead of all US minority groups.

The Gay/Lesbian Consumer Online Census (GLCensus), an OpusComm Group and Syracuse University research partnership, found that nearly 32 percent of the male respondents and 17 percent of female respondents in their 2002 survey reported household incomes of $100,000 or more.

“Two things also mitigate against this market being ‘small’. The first is gay and lesbian buying power, and the second is that this is a fairly identifiable audience. There are clear websites that people go to, and events like Gay Pride that make it easy to target them,” says Forrester analyst Mr Jed Kolko, author of the July study.

It’s a niche market that, it turns out, isn’t very niche. Consider that the number one American website to reach single men with household incomes over $75,000 is – no, not CNN sports, but Gay.com, according to research by @plan.

Those kinds of demographics have made gays and lesbians the target of campaigns by big name companies online, not just those which offer gay-specific services or products. Gay.com pulls in big name advertisers like American Airlines, Viacom, Procter & Gamble, BMG Entertainment, General Motors, Merck, US Airways, Chase and IBM. Gay.co.uk has snapped up Debenhams, Visa, Sainsburys, Amex Insurance, and AOL.

Research shows that gays and lesbians are among the most company and brand-loyal of consumers as well, responding to companies that advertise in gay publications and websites. A gay-specific approach has made companies like American Express and Absolut the leading brands with gays and lesbians. Overall, gays and lesbians are 87 per cent more likely to give their custom to companies that target them specifically.

Mr Kolko’s research shows that gays and lesbians are more likely to be university graduates, to be online, to have broadband net connections, to shop online, to bank online, and book travel online. They are more likely to own almost every type of digital device or gadget than heterosexuals, excluding camcorders and video game consoles. And, they are more likely than straight people to join in every conceivable type of online activity from dating to downloading music, using instant messaging, reading newspapers online and sending e-greeting cards. The only things they don’t do in greater numbers are visit sport sites and play games alone.

Based on those kinds of figures, PlanetOut Partners, the parent company of Gay.com, has adopted an aggressive marketing approach to go after advertisers. “The average middle-class family spends over one million dollars to raise a child through age 22. Some gay people have kids. Most don’t. Where are they spending that money? On your products and services,” says one advertiser pitch on its corporate website.

Advertisers are clearly biting. The company startled many in the struggling online publication world recently when it announced it had gone into the black based on the kind of revenue its cluster of online sites pulls in. These include Out & About Travel, PlanetOut.com, eight international sites for Gay.com, and a shopping site targeting gays and lesbians, Kleptomaniac.com (the name comes from a comment by conservative former US senator Trent Lott, that homosexuals were sick and should receive medical treatment just like alcoholics or kleptomaniacs).

Dublin-based Gay Community News is hoping it can wield some of that advertiser draw in the Irish market. Its website, which gets about 3,000 hits a month, was revamped into a more interactive format recently after GCN relaunched in a glossy magazine format, says GCN manager Ms Marie Mulholland.

“Even with the constricted website that we had, we were getting 400-500 hits a week, and we knew there was something to respond to,” she says.

Online advertisers already include an Irish travel company and bookstore, but GCN believes it offers an attractive audience for British companies, too, and is looking at potential advertisers.

Not for profit, community sites like Outhouse.ie – the online presence for Dublin-based gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community centre Outhouse – and GayCork.com, a news, discussion, and small ads site, say the internet is an important resource for gays and lesbians.

“So much about this particular community goes through the web,” says Outhouse manager Ms Louise Tierney. People use it to get information, to meet others, to buy products with an anonymity and sense of like-mindedness that us often unavailable in the ‘real world’, she says. She notes that Outhouse provides PCs and internet access for Irish people who don’t have the high incomes touted in the studies.

The internet provides “a way for gays to talk in common,” says Mr Jonathan Neville, webmaster for GayCork.com, which also gets about 3,000 visitors monthly. “The web has totally opened that up.”

Mr Kolko believes these are some of the reasons why so many gays and lesbians are online – for them, the web is transformative. “The fact that the virtual [gay] community is so strong suggests it has changed the experience of being gay,” he says.

It also has changed the attitudes of many mainstream companies who might once have been cautious about advertising in gay and lesbian publications, online or offline – much less running gay-themed advertisements in the mainstream media, as Ikea, Tanqueray and others have done.

For companies, it might not be a bad idea to think seriously about viewing the online world through rose-tinted glasses.

Note: This article originally appeared in the print edition of the Irish Times on the 6th of September 2003 and it appears here with the kind permission of Karlin Lillington.

As the early morning sunlight chases the shadows from the empty streets of the Vatican City, it also illuminates the path of Alfredo Ormando as he makes his way to the entrance of the Basilica and kneels down as if to pray. The date is 13 January 1998. There, before God and the Roman Catholic Church, just as the 39-year-old gay Italian writer had planned, Alfredo sets himself aflame, receiving the burns which lead to his death. My mind’s eye, fleeing this horror, follows the sun back along his path through Rome and I imagine I see a slug-like trail of the gasoline whose flames consumed Alfredo’s body. A small pool of it seems to gather in the ruts between the cobblestones and reflected in that puddle my mind fancies it sees an oily rainbow. Somewhere, somewhere over that rainbow Alfredo’s God watches on. Religion

Being a Roman Catholic before he killed himself, Alfredo Ormando had a very definite idea of who and what that God was. He saw Him as creator, father, all powerful, all forgiving—well usually—and, fatally, Alfredo saw Him as homophobic. All his life Alfredo would have been told that homosexuality is ‘an abomination’, that it is ‘detestable’, equating it with men who ‘abandoned natural relations with women’ and gave into their ‘shameful lusts.’ Essentially the Roman Catholic Church would have told him that homosexual acts were ‘contrary to the creative wisdom of God.’

Of course the Roman Catholic outlook is not the only perception of God. Of the other Christian doctrines, the majority also denounce homosexuality or, technically, homosexual acts. The Church of Ireland, Presbyterians, Methodists and others would likewise point to the Bible and call homosexuality ‘an abomination’. These groups teach their members to view God as loving all, but hating homosexuality (as opposed to homosexuals). A similar situation arises in Judaism, where passages in the Torah, especially in Leviticus and Deuteronomy, have been interpreted to read as condemnations of homosexuality. In the Quran, the book of the Islamic faith, homosexuality is again prohibited, with a re-iteration of the phrase ‘an abomination’ appearing in passages about the people of Lot, and Muslims are taught to believe that God hates gays.

In each of these doctrines homosexuals are urged to ignore or forsake their orientation in favour of living healthy, ‘normal’ heterosexual lives, or to at least exist in celibacy.
A personal perspective

However, I did not set out to write an article about religion. I wanted to look at God and see what I, personally, think His feelings on homosexuality might be. I realise that it is difficult to make a distinction between God and religion, but when someone says to me homosexuality is ‘contrary to the creative wisdom of God’ I simply have to ask: ‘The wisdom of God as interpreted by whom?’

And so I have decided to interpret that wisdom for myself. Alfredo Ormando, and countless other gay men and women, have brought about their own deaths because they were raised to believe in a God who couldn’t, or wouldn’t, accept who they were as people. Surely this is the real abomination.

My own faith is quite different. I should warn you, I was raised as a Roman Catholic, but I typically label myself agnostic and I am in no way certain of the existence of God. However, if He does exist, I will not accept that He exists as a homophobe.

Love

Firstly, most religions say that God is our creator. Well, with me God created a homosexual man, and in me created the love of other men. I did not ask to be this way not do I know why I am this way (though I love being this way) but I am. I cannot believe that a God would give me that love and insist I do not embrace it.

As a child I was instructed that the greatest good in the world was the love of God. Indeed, God Himself acted on the love: ‘He so loved the world He gave His only son’. I sincerely believe that love is something of pure goodness in this world, regardless of who it is between.Ê And to go out and find that love, to act on it and share it, surely that is what any God intended us to do. He did not want us to bury it in the back garden but rather accept it this gift and honour our creator by using it.

Sex

This brings me nicely to the topic of sex. Most religions will tolerate homosexuals but declare that all homosexual acts are sinful. In specific circumstances heterosexual acts are to be encouraged. I don’t agree with this either. God created in each human the desire for sex, which nature uses for the procreation of the human race.Ê However, few people would criticise all heterosexual acts which did not have reproduction as their aim. So how can we censure all homosexual acts which cannot lead to procreation. Sex can be about so much more than babies, it allows us show our love for someone and is perhaps the ultimate way to share yourself with that person; spiritually, emotionally and physically. It can be an affirmation of that great good: love, and a mark of respect to the God who gave us this love. In which circumstances this is the case for you (as a homosexual) I will leave to your good selves (i.e. in a long term relationship vs a one-night-stand) but to say that homosexuals must abstain entirely is insupportable.

So where can we queers go?

Religion, as I mentioned earlier, has said that homosexuality is ‘contrary to the creative wisdom of God’. Again I ask ‘as interpreted by whom?’ God made the world, or so they say, and in it is quite a large number of gay people. I find it rather arrogant to consider this obvious fact a mere overlooked error on the part of an omniscient omnipotent deity. God gave us attraction which exists entirely without action, how can this intrinsic trait be seen as opposing the intentions of God.

However, if, as a homosexual, practising or non, you wish to join a religion and have some assistance in the spiritual department, without being chastised from the pulpit, then you need not be alone. My research has indicated that most schools of Buddhism view homosexuality in the same light as heterosexuality and ask only if your actions are inspired by good intentions. Buddha strongly encouraged his followers to ‘be a light unto yourself’. In Judaism many synagogues at local level are making strides toward acceptance of gay and lesbian members. In Christianity the United Church of Christ and the Unitarian Universalist Association fully accept homosexual members with equal rights and privileges.

Unfortunately, however, most Christian religions have still not resolved the issue of homosexuality and will not administer the sacraments to practising gays. In Roman Catholicism this practice may change over time with the imminent arrival of a new pope, or it may not. You may chose to remain a practising Roman Catholic and a (secretly) practising homosexual, resolving this conflict privately between you and your God, and if you do I commend you. Many your members in our churches are doing this and it will hopefully lead to an eventual change in the church’s official outlook. But at present this conflict leads to great distress for many of us in the gay community worldwide. As it did with Alfredo Ormando.

I envisage him now, high above that rainbow, at the foot of the God he believed in so ardently. I see God weeping over the lost life of the man He loved, one of His flock, and I imagine God’s anger at the foolishness of Man to so misconstrue His intentions. I see Him embrace Alfredo, I see the burns leave the body of this gay man, I see the scars flee his soul, and I see him finally being free to love, love whomsoever he wishes to love.

here is no single cause of mental illness. A range of biological and/or psychosocial factors may contribute. Some individuals may be more vulnerable because of biological factors such as a genetic predisposition and biochemical imbalances in the brain. Psychosocial causes include drug and alcohol use, significant loss, a lack of love and support, a history of abuse and low self-esteem.

Much research has been carried out on mental health amongst the LGBT community. Study after study shows that queers suffer higher levels of depression and suicide than heterosexuals. Societal homophobia has been identified as the main reason behind this phenomenon, but various other factors also play a part.

Depression

The biological causes of depression do not differ between straight and gay people. However, psychosocial causes can be seen to play an important factor in depression rates amongst queers. Rejection and discrimination can lead to stress, depression and low self-esteem amongst gays. The situation is only compounded when sufferers attempt to numb their pain with drugs and alcohol.

A study by Cochran and Mays published in 2000 found that, within their lifetimes, gay and bisexual men experience major depressive disorder (MDD) on average 2.5 times more often than straight men. In another study that spanned a one year period, the same authors found that gay and bisexual men were 2.9 times more likely to suffer MDD and over 4 times more likely to suffer panic disorder than heterosexual men. This study also found that lesbians were 3.3 times more likely to be dependent on drugs and 2.8 times more likely to be dependent on alcohol than heterosexual women.

Depression frequently manifests itself in self-destructive behaviour. A research team led by Dr Gary Rogers of Adelaide University monitored gay and bi men who participated in a health program. They found that men with long-term, low-grade depression (dysthymia) are almost twice as likely to have unsafe sex as those who are not depressed. Speaking of the findings, Dr Rogers said: “It may be that the low self-esteem that is part of long-term depression leads to men not caring enough about themselves to stay safe.”

Suicide

Research has also revealed abnormally high suicide rates amongst LGBT communities. Many studies have focused on adolescents, who appear to be especially at risk. A study of Massachusetts high school students by Faulkner and Cranston yielded startling results. It found that queer teenagers were over 4 times more likely than their straight counterparts to make suicide attempts that required medical attention. Studies in other US states yielded similar results.

Research by Remafedi et al has also shown that ‘feminine’ gay males are more likely to attempt suicide than their ‘masculine’ peers. This is possibly a result of the higher levels of verbal and physical abuse meted out to effeminate gay males compared to their ‘straight-acting’ peers. The discrepancy suggests that gender nonconformity may be a factor in the high suicide rate found in young gay males. Indeed, some commentators have suggested that the issue of gay youth suicide stems largely from that of gender nonconformity.

Causes

Dr Ilan H. Meyer of New York’s Columbia University has researched the area of LGBT health. His work has shown that the stress of living in a homophobic environment can lead to high rates of depression and suicide. Examples of homophobia cited include discrimination and harassment as well as anti-gay initiatives by governments. The pressures of belonging to a religious community that officially condemns homosexuality were also noted.

A more insidious problem is that of ‘internalized homophobia’, a condition where gay people develop a negative self-image because of their sexuality. Dr Meyer found that 70% of “mostly out of the closet” gay men have some degree of internalized homophobia.

Various other factors have been identified as reasons for higher-than-average rates of depression amongst gays. The gay community tends to value youth and beauty, often excluding those who do not possess these qualities. For some gay men, acceptance within the community has become focused on having a lean, muscular body. This ‘ideal’ may lead to poor body image among those who feel themselves to be over- or underweight.

Isolation is often a root cause of depression among older members of the queer community. For many younger queers, a sense of gay identity is gained from visiting gay pubs and clubs. Older queers often avoid the scene, feeling it doesn’t cater for them, and may consequently become isolated. Gays belonging to ethnic minorities face additional problems. The huge pressures of dealing with discrimination in mainstream society, within their own communities and within the gay community can often lead to depression. Those suffering from HIV and other diseases are also at high risk of becoming depressed.

Solutions

Societal homophobia remains both the biggest and the most intractable cause of depression and suicide within the queer community. It can only be hoped that as gay visibility grows, and the integration of gay culture within the mainstream continues, its influence will weaken.

However, more proactive approaches can be taken to address the problems of gay people with depression right here, right now. It is apparent that by highlighting the issue of mental health within the queer community, changes can be made. Campaigns and projects to promote the mental health of the community frequently enjoy significent success. The men who participated in the Adelaide health program mentioned above are a case in point. At enrolment, 27% of them suffered from dysthymia, but by the follow-up stage this had fallen to 16%. Clearly, health projects like this are an effective tool for reducing depression rates among the LGBT community.

Like any self-respecting port town, Cork has a long history of naval-themed sexual activity and quayside prostitution. The city’s main cruising areas were always down at the docks, although ‘cottaging’ also became popular in some other locations around the city. Apart from these murky hives of activity, however, the queer population was practically invisible for centuries. Cork remained firmly in the closet until the last quarter of the twentieth century.

Gay Rights Activism

The gay rights movement started in Ireland in the early 1970s, but there was little activity in Cork until the end of the decade. At this time, a Lesbian and Gay Collective was set up, following the establishment of similiar groups in Dublin, notably the Irish Gay Rights Movement (IGRM). ‘Sapphire’, Cork’s first gay publication, was published in 1978, although it folded soon after. In the early 1980s, those involved in the campaign for gay rights began to use the newly established Quay Co-op restaurant as a base, along with various other alternative groups.

The decriminalisation of homosexual acts in 1993 led to increased confidence within the gay community and a subsequent tailing off of gay political activity. Homophobia and anti-gay discrimination were still rife, however, as evidenced by the case of Donna McAnnellan, who was dismissed from her job in a Cork gym because she was a lesbian. However, after the story received nationwide media coverage, legislation was subsequently passed to prevent unfair dismissal on the grounds of sexual orientation.

By 2000, gay political activity in Cork was less the province of the traditional gay rights activist than the gay politician. In that year, Councillor Peter Kelly proposed a bylaw recommending that gay couples in committed relationships should be entitled to a place on the housing list, and gained the unanimous support of the council.

Another sign of increasing acceptance within official circles was the appointment of a Garda Liaison Officer. This contrasted sharply with an earlier tense relationship between the Gardaí and the gay community—when a gay man was murdered in Cork in 1982, detectives working on the case asked the IGRM to hand over their membership lists (they refused).

Community Building

Numerous community initiatives were set up in the late 80s and early 90s, many operating out of The Other Place, a newly established resource centre. These included lesbian and gay helplines, a variety of support groups and social clubs. A Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Society was also set up at UCC (The CIT would have to wait another decade).

The issue of gay health also came to the fore during this period. Health projects for both lesbians and gay men were established at The Other Place, reflecting a nationwide trend. In addition, AIDS Alliance (now known as The Alliance) was founded in 1987 to cater for the needs of those affected by HIV/AIDS, although it did not, of course, cater exclusively for the gay community. The whole issue of HIV/AIDS tended to be swept under the carpet, and those affected often found themselves isolated from the community. Whilst this has continued to be a problem, The Alliance has helped to combat it, and a HIV/AIDS family support group has also been set up.

As is the case in many other cities, the voices of young gay men and lesbians had traditionally shouted louder than those of others within Cork’s queer community. From the mid 90s, efforts were made to facilitate the needs of minorities within the community. Towards this end, groups were set up to cater for older gay men and women, and also transvestites, transsexuals and those with gender issues.

Attempts to establish a lesbian space in Cork gathered momentum from the late 90s. An early venture named ‘Cairde Corcaí’ didn’t last the course, but it laid the foundations for the L.Inc centre, which was established in 2000. The success of L.Inc was characteristic of the community spirit enjoyed by Cork lesbians; notably more pronounced than in other sections of the queer community. This spirit is also reflected in events such as the long-running Cork Women’s Fun Weekend and the Lesbian Fantasy Ball. The popularity of these and other events are perhaps partially a result of disaffection with the male-dominated gay scene.

The Slowly Swelling Scene

Down through the years, the gay population tended to congregate in certain pubs, the identity of which were always cloaked in secrecy. Only in very rare circumstances did the managements of these venues actively seek out a gay clientele. In more recent times, however, several bars designated themselves as being ‘gay friendly’. These venues tended to come and go with relative rapidity, as did gay friendly club nights and restaurants. Popular gay-friendly hangouts of past years include An Síol Brion, The Parliament, Mór Disco @ Zoës and Kethners restaurant.

In the early 1980s, the first openly gay venue emerged—Loafers pub on Douglas Street. Loafers established the trend whereby all gay venues in Cork are located down backstreets and alleyways, lending the scene a somewhat furtive atmosphere, and further contributing to the segregation of gay life from the mainstream. Following in this tradition came The Other Place club in the late 80s and Taboo in 2001.

Cork’s scene is still extremely small compared to English cities of similiar size such as Southampton or Nottingham, which can easily boast three times as many venues. Like most Irish cities, the scene in Cork continues to grow, but excruciatingly slowly. Strangely, Pride celebrations have yet to take off here, in contrast to almost every other sizable Irish city. A welcome development, however, was the staging of the first Alternative Miss Cork contest in 2002.

Wider Acceptance

In 1993 a lesbian and gay contingent participated in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade for the first time. The organising committee, who included the Bishop of Cork in their number, awarded their float the prize for ‘Best Newcomers’. Despite this, and many other signs of acceptance in recent years, gay life in Cork remains a somewhat underground phenomenon. It would be perfectly possible to live in the city and be only vaguely aware that a gay community exists. Gay venues are largely hidden from view and there are few gay figures in the public eye.

This situation is not peculiar to Cork, but seems to be a reflection of the conservative nature of Irish society. Even Dublin, a more forward-thinking city than many, has to content itself with a relatively small scene. Gay Cork is at an awkward limbo stage—the worst years of isolation and discrimination are largely over, but the gay community still has some way to go before it can be said to be an integral part of life in the city.

When GayCork.com was officially launched in June, opinion was polarised within sections of Cork queerdom. ‘Jesus, they can’t be writin’ about cruisin’ areas and stuff, like’, opined one Leeside mary between slurps of a happy-hour cocktail. His cider-quaffing companion was less distressed: ‘Sure, why not, girl, it goes on all de time, dozenit?’

GayCork.com emerged largely because the needs of Cork’s gay community were not being met by existing websites. In the half-decade prior to 2002, anyone who typed the words ‘gay’ and ‘Cork’ into a search engine form was presented with a slew of links to sites which purported to be nationwide in focus. In reality, their coverage of areas outside Dublin was poor. For example, where sections were devoted to Cork, they typically listed venues which had closed down years before. However, this neglect ignored the increasingly vibrant gay communities that had emerged in regional cities, particularly. Galway and Cork.

Most visitors to the site have been more concerned with whether it’s actually any good or not – and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. The site currently receives 70,000 hits per week, a figure which is steadily increasing.

So far, we’ve received much praise for The Talking Head column. The incognito writer responsible discourses upon a diverse range of topics, and his articles generate much discussion. Fabula diBeaumarchais, the ‘First Lady’ of Cork, has also left her indelible mark on proceedings. Through her online journal she injects regular doses of fabulousness into the site, as readily and copiously as her own Botox shots.

But hark! Can you hear the cynic in the corner? : ‘Another piece of pink fluff, and a provincial one at that – just what the web needs … ‘ Not so fast, girlfriend! We’ve aimed to avoid the worst cliches of the gay website. That means no syndicated ‘lifestyle’ features that few ever read, no rain¬bows,interlocked gender signs or quasi-porn and coverage of pop has been restricted to tolerable levels: Kylie, yes; H+Caire, no.

Moreover, we’ve endeavoured to make the site genuinely useful. A serious attempt has been made to answer almost any question that might be asked about gay life in Cork. The establishment of a resource that caters for all strands of the queer community has also been a primary concern. We’ve done our best to accommodate marginalised groups, including bisexuals, transsexuals and the closeted. To aid those dealing with issues raised by their sexuality, we’re developing an interactive health and welfare section which will provide information, advice and support.

Rubbing our eyes and wincing at the sunlight, we’ve emerged lately into the real world and begun to work with other Cork-based organisations. In particular, we’ve developed a close working relationship with L.lnc, Cork’s lesbian resource centre. GayCork.com and the L.lnc website (www.linc.ie) are now closely tied, and we collaborate extensively.

So, itching to find out more? Point your browser to www.gaycork.com. Curiosity still not piqued? Well, maybe you’ll be swayed by the recommendation of the aforementioned cider-guzzler: ‘Ah, sure, fair fucks to them, like.’ Was there ever a pithier endorsement?